These two Lancaster bombers were produced in great numbers in England , Scotland and Wales   At the time it was the worlds largest and fastest bombers.  The picture shows one in flight with four mighty Merlin engines taking it into the wild blue yonder and the other with its 8 ton load ready for an operation against the Axis forces. Bomber Command crews suffered an extremely high casualty rate: 55,573 killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew (a 44.4% death rate), a further 8,403 were wounded in action and 9,838 became prisoners of war. This covered all Bomber Command operations including tactical support for ground operations and mining of sea lanes. (Roberts, Andrew (March 2007). "High courage on the axe-edge of war". London: The Times)   Source: Forces War Records Historic library.